King Fisher Day Nursery

King Fisher Baby Unit

Inspection report for early years provision

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King Fisher Baby Unit

Unique Reference Number EY151885 Inspection date 20 January 2006 Inspector Gillian Cubitt

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King Fisher Baby Unit

Setting Address A 159 Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 6PW

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E-mail

Registered person Cynthia Wilson Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Full day care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

King Fisher Baby Unit is one of three nurseries in the Croydon area. It opened in 2001 and operates from various rooms on the ground floor of a residential house in lower Addiscombe. The nursery is open five days a week from 08:00 to 18:00 all year round. Children can attend on a full or part-time basis. A maximum of 40 children may attend the

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 nursery at any one time. Currently there are 45 children age from 3 months to under 5 years on roll. Of these, 17 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and also supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 13 staff. Eight of the staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. Four staff are working towards a qualification.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. Children learn the importance of personal hygiene through their daily routines of going to the toilet where staff ask them to wash their hands. However, the current system of taking four children to the toilet at one time as a routine, is stressful when children need individual attention. Staff ask children to wash their hands although this is not closely monitored, which means that children may not always be thorough in their task. Children over two years enjoy physical activity and fresh air as they have access to a large level garden where they can run and play with wheeled toys and climbing equipment. This facility however is not used for babies and toddlers. Their access to fresh air therefore, is restricted; they remain in one room all day which inhibits their healthy development. To minimise the spread of infection, staff adhere to a strict cleaning programme and visitors must wear protective foot wear when walking in areas where children crawl.

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Helping children to be healthy

Staff also have set times for changing nappies which ensures that babies are dry and comfortable. Nappy changing however is carried out in the main room where children play, which does not provide children with privacy. Children enjoy a varied diet and all meals are provided and are prepared freshly each day. Children also benefit from fresh fruit and yoghurt and they have regular access to drinks and water. However, milk that is prepared for babies by parents, is not always stored appropriately which means that there is a risk to children's health. Babies and toddlers have set times for their meals and rest, which does not always meet their individual needs as some babies become tired and hungry before the planned times. All babies have their own cots and linen which makes them comfortable and snug at rest times, but sleeping facilities for toddlers is not suitable; they sleep in one small section of the room which is very cramped and inhibits

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Helping children to be healthy

children's rest. Children's health needs are noted and staff keep appropriate medication records although they do not ask parents to sign each day after medicine has been administered. This may compromise children's health as parents are not made aware of what their children are taking on a daily basis.

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is inadequate. Children's welfare is safeguarded as all staff are appropriately vetted and staff are constantly aware of the child to staff ratios which they try to maintain, even when they are short of staff due to holidays and sickness. Children are divided into rooms that are appropriate to their ages and stages of development and staff have attended courses to heighten their awareness of safety for children in the setting. Children are able to access their toys easily as they are within easy reach and all resources are generally well maintained and safe. Safety precautions, such as gates positioned at each room to prevent toddlers from wandering help to keep children safe and risk assessments help to identify possible areas of concern that may cause harm. Some aspects, however, present a hazard, such as the staff books on the shelves in the baby rooms that are not secure. Also, the system of toileting is stressful for children and there is the potential for accidents

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

to occur with the toilet doors due to children not being properly supervised. Children are protected as the child protection co-ordinator ensures that policies are in place and, through meetings and training, staff understand their responsibilities.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Babies and young children benefit from the having key workers who take a special interest in their welfare. This enables staff to bond with children and helps to develop their self-esteem and emotional well-being. Children play with a range of toys and play equipment. Children over two years however have more variety as they have access to the large garden where they enjoy the fresh air. They laugh with delight as they ride their bikes and go down the slide. Inside, babies and toddlers enjoy cuddles and have plenty of soft and interactive toys that are placed within their reach which helps them to develop their hand and eye co-ordination skills. Resources however for the toddlers for age range of 12 months to 2 years are unimaginative. They have plenty of room to play but areas where they can relax and experience soft play are limited. Activities, such as painting and play dough are organised, however, as these are part of structured play

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

and not constantly accessible for children, their curiosity and spontaneity is lost. Staff are developing their skills of child development and work with the planning for Birth to three matters which is helping them to focus on children's needs. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children make progress because the nursery room is lead by enthusiastic staff who provide a balanced and interesting curriculum. The organisation of the room enables children to access many activities and resources that help them in their learning. Children are happy and secure in their environment and their confidence is growing as they are aware that they can make

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 choices and direct their own play. This helps develop their concentration as children become focussed in what they enjoy doing. Children have fun as they knead and roll the gooey play dough to make shapes in the form of cakes and castles. They feel the sand and watch it filter through their fingers. Children are very sociable, communicate clearly and staff encourage them to be open and direct. Children say how they feel and what they like doing. They understand numbers as they see these around the room and all know their own ages and are capable when counting on their fingers. Children's understanding of the world is promoted through interesting computer programmes where they learn mouse control, which promotes their fine motor skills, as well as appreciating the early stages of problem solving. The position of the room

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

provides children with opportunities to play inside and outside. They extend their play theme of transport in the garden as they make trains from such equipment as tyres and crates which promotes their physical skills as well as their creativity. Children also speak enthusiastically about their search for worms. Children are well-behaved and eagerly participate and help each other when it is time to tidy up. They sit on the carpet in quiet anticipation of their expected activity of group singing. They sing their favourite songs with gusto. The ABC song plus other much-loved rhymes, together with the music, prompt them into joining together to clap and move in time with the beat. Staff know the children well so they have a good understanding of each child's needs. Staff listen to children well and instinctively follow their lead as they carefully extend their learning and understanding. All the required planning is in place and

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

observations and reports are prepared on each child. However, at present staff do not effectively use their written observations to inform future planning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. All children are made very welcome. Children's needs are carefully noted at registration, with the aid of individual child profiles, which parents complete to inform staff about their child's abilities, likes and dislikes. This helps staff settle children in their early stages of attendance. Children learn about diversity as the programme of activities includes cultural festivals and staff make a note of children's individual backgrounds so that they are able to include these in their planning. Pictures and posters around the rooms provide children with a daily reminder of diversity in society. Children are cared for by conscientious staff who support children well, this includes children with special needs. The current special needs co-ordinator is sensitive to children's individual needs and makes appropriate notes so she can follow these up with parents and other agencies. Individual educational plans however are not in

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Helping children make a positive contribution

place as yet to ensure children receive the correct support. Training is however planned which will enable the special needs co-ordinator to keep staff fully informed of the procedures. Children are encouraged to help each other, be kind and polite. Pre-school children are proud to recite their midday thank you prayer before lunch. This approach fosters children's spiritual, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The partnership with parents is satisfactory. Babies settle well because staff work closely with parents during the early days and parents receive daily contact sheets informing them about their child's activities and progress. Parents of pre-school children are also made to feel welcome and they are informed about what their children are doing through regular reports and consultation days. Parents also have their own notice boards that inform them about planning and themes.

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. Systems are in place to ensure that all staff are appropriately cleared and vetted before they work with children and staff are provided with opportunities to train to improve their skills. However, there are significant differences in the daily organisation between the pre-school room and the baby and toddler rooms. For although staff follow daily operational plans, which ensures that toddlers have a set structure to each day staff do not display sufficient initiative or imagination in their planning or daily organisation. This means that babies and toddlers do not have variety in their environment, as they rarely go outside, and toilet time is stressful for some children. Although staff have attended a course on health and safety, they are not fully aware of hazards within the rooms, which pose a potential safety risk for children. Most records, policies and procedures are in place which sufficiently support

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Organisation

the care of children. However, the system for recording medication is not fully followed through to ensure that parents are fully aware of medicine that has been administered and the procedure for recording complaints is not updated. Induction training and policies generally work in practice to safeguard children's welfare, although staff's lack of experience and awareness means that some aspects of safety are overlooked in the baby and toddler rooms. Leadership and management of the provision in relation to children who receive nursery education are satisfactory. The management has been working well with the staff in the pre-school room, together with early years advisers, to make major improvements to the resources accessible to the children. Staff are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and are continually developing their knowledge of the Curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage which means that pre-school children

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Organisation

make good progress. However, babies and toddlers do not benefit from the full range of facilities available within the nursery. Overall, the setting does not meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides care.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last Children Act inspection made recommendations to improve risk assessments and to provide children with appropriate furniture to sleep and rest on. A recommendation was also made that children's work on display reflect their abilities and activities reflect the topic chosen. Staff were also asked to provide opportunities for younger children to be independent eaters and that children have safe seating.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Improvements have been made which reflect on children's safety as the staff have had training in health and safety and the manager carries out regular risk assessments. However, there is still some lack of awareness of noting possible hazards. Babies have individual cots for sleeping which are comfortable, however other children sleep on the hard cramped floor in sleeping bags. Babies and toddlers are encouraged to feed themselves, although, babies at times, sit too long in their high chairs at lunch time and their lack of feeding skills means that food ends up on the floor. Children now have their own work displayed which reflects the topics and makes the nursery welcoming and inviting for parents and children.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There have been four complaints or concerns since the last Care inspection. In November 2004 concerns were raised relating to Standards 3,4,6, and 8. An Ofsted inspector made an unannounced visit and found no evidence that the National Standards had been breached. In July 2005 there was concerns raised relating to Standards 1 and 4. An inspector made an unannounced visit and made actions to ensure that standards were met. On 8 September 2005, a further concern was made regarding Standard 1. The provider investigated and provided Ofsted with a report which was reviewed and no further action taken. On 21 December 2005 Ofsted inspectors made an unannounced visit to investigate an incident under National Standards 7, 8 and 2 following an incident where a child was given food that he was allergic to. The inspectors requested the provider to prepare an action plan to ensure that there is no reoccurrence of the incident.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider remained qualified for registration.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care, the registered person must take the

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 following actions: • ensure that sleep and rest arrangements for babies and toddlers are appropriate and comfortable and take into account children's individual sleep patterns • ensure that babies milk is stored appropriately in accordance with food safety and hygiene regulations • update complaints policy and maintain a record of complaints and ensure that this information is available to parents and the regulatory body on request • update the medication procedure to ensure that there is a section for parents to sign after medication has been administered • make all areas of the nursery safe with special regard to toilet doors and removing bookshelves that present a hazard These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure staff make regular observations and use these as a link to planning future activities that identify children's individual needs

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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